One of the heroes of last week in the Champions League was Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel. The goalkeeper joined his team’s attack in stoppage time, scored a miracle goal and saved the Romans from defeat in the game against Atlético. The masterpiece was admired by many football fans, but when it came to choosing the best goal, the goalkeeper was unexpectedly left out.

Because Russian?

Strange choice

In the match of the first round of the group stage of the Champions League, Quartet E rivals Lazio and Atlético failed to identify the strongest. Pablo Barrios’ goal in the first half brought the Spanish team ahead, but in the fifth added minute to the second half the Romans miraculously escaped. A masterpiece strike by Ivan Provedel helped Maurizio Sarri’s team avoid defeat. The goalkeeper decided to support the attack, skillfully opened up in the penalty area under a pass from Luis Alberto, and then headed the ball into the “mattress guys” goal.

Naturally, Provedel’s goal was among the contenders for the title of best goal of the week in the Champions League. The Lazio goalkeeper had competition from João Felix from Barcelona, ​​Angelo Fulgini from Lens and Tete from Galatasaray. They all executed their shots really well, but it still seemed like the choice was obvious. Goalkeepers score at this level extremely rarely, especially since Ivan’s accurate shot saved the team from defeat at the very end of the match. And in terms of execution, the footballer did everything brilliantly.

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But in the end, the choice was not made in favor of the Italian goalkeeper; the forward of the Turkish club Tete received recognition. All that remained was to be surprised at the strange result. Of course, the Brazilian striker hit the ball great on the volley, and his goal was also important – it saved the Istanbul team from defeat from Copenhagen. But fans see this on a regular basis in the Champions League.

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“Political moment”

Many fans did not appreciate the choice of the best goal of the week in the Champions League and actively expressed their disagreement in the comments.

– A masterpiece that will remain in the history of football.

— The best goal of all tournaments this week!!!

— The best thing in football.

— The goalkeeper scores a goal in the last minute

— How can you not choose Provedel’s goal?

— Provedel is definitely the best.

— Even if you don’t take into account that Provedel is a goalkeeper, his goal looks cooler. Nowadays, scoring a volley is a common thing.

– Who chose it anyway? Did Galatasaray fans just vote, or what?

On the air of the program “Everyone for the Match!” experts also disagreed on the choice of the best goal. Former Russian national team players Igor Korneev and Ruslan Pimenov insisted that the goal scored by the Lazio goalkeeper was the best of the tour. The ex-Lokomotiv forward even made a bold assumption about the voting result.

“He’s half Russian, he understands the Russian language, his mother is Russian, Ivan is a clear name.” I think the political moment played such a role here,” Pimenov suggested.

Perhaps there is no point in trying to see politics in everything. How many of the fans who voted for the best goal of the week knew about Provedel’s Russian roots? In addition, the other day the agent of the Lazio goalkeeper said that the player has no plans to obtain Russian citizenship. But still, choosing the best goal of the week raises questions. The activity of Galatasaray fans is understandable, but do neutral football fans really agree that Ivan did not deserve the award?